Amsterdam, The Netherlands —In this incredibly beautiful city there is no shortage of art, entertainment or excitement.  It’s a natural place for the terrific actress, singer and world-class entertainer, Carice van Houten  who is a child of Holland.    I fell in love with Carice’s many talents when she starred in the Paul Verhoeven Film, Black Book .  I expect this incredible and exciting young woman to be getting an Oscar bound film role any day.    Carice completed a brand new album,  See You On The Ice  which is due to be released on ITunes on September 28 .   Carice was a guest on a Dutch DJ’s radio show and sang two selections from her album.  This sneak peek was a real treat for me to watch and now I must pass her on to you! At the very top of my Bucket List is winning a video interview of Carice for this blog! Somehow I think that will happen when I'm in Amsterdam or Carice is in L.A. Black Boo...

These two are the problem, not a solution...  Los Angeles, CA —The Internet is loaded with vitriol, blasphemous, and hateful text, images and video that is offensive towards Islam.   That crappy, low budget film trailer is only a drop in the bucket in the scheme of things. For many practitioners of Islam , wife beating, child molestation, bigamy along with mass murder is acceptable.   I’m no expert on Islam or what its teachings inspire.   I am however like all of us an observer of the absolute horror, death and destruction has been brought to the world in the name of Islam.    It only makes sense that the irrational and monstrous acts of some Muslims offend civilized people everywhere.    Their simple and expected reaction is to reject Islam and Muslims.   Along the way there will be satire, disrespect and hatred expressed in reaction to murder, bombing and evil unleashed by these Muslims.   That insignificant f...

JVC-HM100U   Los Angeles, CA —I have an amazing power that can be used for good or evil.   I have some really nifty equipment and knowhow to make movies. Today’s incredibly wonderful and powerful filmmaking tools are really affordable and easy to use.   Cameras, microphones, lights and a MacBook Pro have allowed me to influence the world.  I have few limits under our Freedom of Speech rights and personal sensibilities that restrict the content I choose to produce.  I’m limited only by my own imagination as to what I can create. In this town getting slave actors is as easy as posting an ad on Craig’s List or the Backstage.   Casting your film from the hungry actors that show up is a snap.  They will settle for being fed and a copy of their scene for their professional reels. If you have any kind of a budget you can make a SAG-AFTRA sanctioned film generally giving you access to better quality talent.   Green screen t...

The incredible Dutch film star  Carice Van Houten Los Angeles, CA —I’m a life long photographer and I’m into video production these days in a big way.  The days of film cameras are over and the TV widescreen is here to stay.   We rarely hang portraits of vertical images on our walls anymore.  Why are people shooting video and stills vertically? The images people post everyday on Facebook or their web pages are often breathtakingly beautiful.  We just have to remember what the media source will be to exhibit our art.  It’s increasingly rarely going to be vertical!  Shooting vertical video is a waste of space.  Learn how to frame your shots for your TV screen.  It’s often better to put your subject on the right or left side of the frame rather than in the middle.  It also give you room to put fun graphics next to your subject.  The stunning picture above is of my favorite actress Carice Van Houten .   O...

Lead lawyer, Joel Brodsky Chicago, IL —The Drew Peterson Inquisition was an un-American legal experience.   Trial by unprecedented hearsay testimony rather than evidence doomed Peterson to an adverse verdict.   This was to satisfy the lynch mob mentality that dictated the predetermined result.    There were no less that six lawyers defending Drew Peterson.  That was a recipe for dysfunction, anger and loathing.  I’ve seen it before even when the results were victorious such as in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.  When the stakes are high each lawyer has different ideas and sometimes the mixture of ideas become incredibly caustic.  As a criminal defense investigator and veteran of numerous murder trials I had my own ideas about Peterson’s defense direction.  I did not get to vote but sensed a disaster in the making, not from legal strategy but by the shocking perversion of the way this criminal trial was conducted. I kn...

Chicago, IL —Teaching is a noble profession however pathetic politicians, unions and a bankrupt African-American culture has gutted every gifted teacher’s lifeblood. The Windy City’s children’s lives are devalued and destroyed in the process of Chicago’s political creature’s intentional sabotage of productivity and Capitalism.  There is no room in Chicago’s schools for teachers that will inspire or motivate children to abandon the African-American culture and tradition of idleness, hatred and total dependence on corrupt government.   Chicago’s public school teachers have little success to show because the children never learn even basic communication skills.  It’s obvious by results that the children are simply warehoused in free day care with free meals to liberate their unemployable single mothers from their parental responsibilities.  The children are not motivated or inspired.  That’s because Chicago’s school system has seen to it that te...

Drew Peterson    Photo by Paul Huebl Joliet, IL —A jury convicted retired Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson of murder yesterday.   Peterson very publicly proclaimed his innocence and in the process became an absolute public pariah.   The media he used to assert his innocence redundantly exposed Peterson’s troubled marriages with much younger women.  The self-generated publicity backfired. Police and prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to take action against Peterson under existing law.   There was no way to proceed with a prosecution. Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow quickly lobbied a special legislative bill that would retroactively allow him to use normally outlawed hearsay testimony as evidence in court.  Additionally, it was a special law that was designed and promulgated just for the prosecution of him and was given the popular moniker of The Drew Peterson Law . The Constitution provides thre...